‘I’m excited to be on the Pittsburgh end now’: Ex-rival 1B Rowdy Tellez adds power to Pirates
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Rowdy Tellez found it frustrating to look at the out-of-town scoreboard last spring and see that the Pittsburgh Pirates were winning enough to keep pace with the Milwaukee Brewers until mid-June.
The back-and-forth battle for first place in the NL Central between the rival small-market teams gave Tellez a sense of appreciation for the Pirates, enough to sign a one-year contract with them Friday.
“You guys don’t understand how frustrating it was playing the Pirates in the beginning of the year last year where we felt like we were the better team, but we could never close out the series and it was just a battle to the end,” Tellez said Monday afternoon in a video conference call with Pittsburgh reporters. “I’m excited to be to be on the Pittsburgh end now, the team that battles and (ticks) people off.”
The signing reunites the 6-foot-4, 270-pound first baseman with some familiar faces: Pirates hitting coach Andy Haines previously held the same job with the Brewers. Pirates manager Derek Shelton was Toronto’s quality control coach when Tellez played for the Blue Jays, and Tellez played for infield coach Mendy Lopez in the Dominican Republic.
No wonder the 28-year-old Tellez is counting on rebounding from a down year, batting .215/.291/.376 with nine doubles, 13 home runs and 47 RBIs in 105 games with Milwaukee, when he spent time on the injured list with a right forearm strain and surgery on his left ring finger. After a career year in 2022 by hitting 23 doubles and 35 home runs with 89 RBIs in 153 games, Tellez is hoping to be healthy and take advantage of playing in what he calls “a fun city” and “ the coolest stadium in baseball” in PNC Park.
“Good team. Good organization. Want to bring back the winning traditions and make great moves to make a great push.”
Rowdy Tellez shares how it feels to join the @Pirates. #MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/bLwHk75nJe
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 18, 2023
Although Tellez said he and the Pirates haven’t had an in-depth discussion about his role, he is expected to at least platoon at first base against right-handed pitching. Tellez has a .277/.351/.554 slash line with three doubles, five homers and 20 RBIs in 21 career games at PNC Park, where he noted the “inviting” left-center gap helps the left-handed hitter resist the temptation of trying to pull it out of the park.
“I know I’ll be playing a lot of first base, trying to drive in as many runs as I can. I’ll be trying to have an impact with the bat. Obviously, that’s my calling card,” Tellez said. “Just be healthy, be out there every day, be a veteran presence, be a guy these young guys can lean on and ask questions to. Be the same guy day-in and day-out. Just be a Pirate, have a good year and be who they need me to be.”
After three-plus seasons in Toronto – where he had 37 homers and 99 RBIs in 219 games – Tellez wore out his welcome and was traded to the Brewers for right-handed pitchers Bowden Francis and Trevor Richards in July 2021. He set career highs in games played (153), hits (116), runs (67), doubles, homers and RBIs in 2022 despite batting .219 with a .767 OPS.
“It’s a huge motivation because I felt like 2022 I had a really good year, kind of turned it around, showed what I could do, always believed in myself,” Tellez said. “I think the first two months of the season in 2023, prior to dealing with injuries and that kind of stuff, I just had a really good start to the season. I think that once that happened and then trying to deal with the injuries and not saying anything and just being that guy that goes out every day, whether it’s right or wrong, just kind of rolling through it really affected me.
“Once we got to the offseason, it was a huge focus on getting healthy, making sure everything is right, getting cleared by the doctors and I feel great. I’m really happy with where I’m at, been working at it a lot, been doing Pilates, trying to just lean out. I’m getting older, man. I can’t be throwing around all this weight like the young dudes. Just trying to do everything i can to stay healthy and be in the best shape so I can go out there and play 162 if they need me to.”
Tellez might be best suited for a platoon, perhaps with the right-handed Connor Joe. At a salary of $3.2 million, with as much as $800,000 in incentives, Tellez would cost the Pirates the same as Yoshi Tsutsugo in 2022 and less than Ji-Man Choi in 2023. Carlos Santana signed a one-year deal for $6.725 million last season but, in an ironic twist, was traded to Milwaukee in late July when Tellez was dealing with injuries.
Tellez hopes to provide leadership, and he expressed a willingness to share his success and failures with the Pirates’ young players while bringing some power to the middle of their lineup.
“I think that they’re just a couple pieces away,” Tellez said. “They’re really young, really good, really talented and a really good staff. I just want to be over there and help out in any way I can and just be a veteran guy that they can look to and talk to and be around and help them win as many games as I can. That’s the big part for me, why I decided to go there. I think it’s going to be a really good situation for me and it’s going to be a really fun year.”